It was only after I'd survived the first half-dozen hog wallows on the trail into the Alaska Men's Retreat that I began to really understand that this wasn't just romantic, guidebook Alaska—I was hip-deep and more in Alaska as she really is, in all her gory glory!

Eventually, when my group—each taking his turn towing me and my wheezing old "four-wheeler" through the worst places—finally arrived at the retreat, I found 85 guys who could cook for themselves and didn't mind living without running water for a weekend, guys who wanted to know more about God and how to live in His power.

Everyone lives a committed life, that is to say, a life given to something or other. But our presenter, Doug Bachelor of Amazing Facts, helped us to understand that if that commitment is to anything other than Jesus, we're walking down the wrong trail.

To me, the Alaska Men's Retreat was not really about missing a hot shower or jouncing through 34 miles of very rough, very muddy and very beautiful Alaska. For me, the ultimate fact about the Men's Retreat was its golden opportunity to fellowship with guys who are serious about Jesus, guys who long to know more about their Creator and Redeemer, guys who want Him to be first in their lives.